Transcript The Blockbuster Resume for 2012: Top-Grossing at the Box Office by Nancy M.

The Blockbuster Resume for 2012:
Top-Grossing at the Box Office
by Nancy M. Glazer,
Manager, Legal Launch, LLC
www.LegalLaunch.net
[email protected]
I. Before the Movie Starts:
Setting the Scene
A. Before You Even Start to Think About Your
Resume, Know the 2012 Legal Market
• The legal climate, 2008 – present;
• The recession, technically over;
• Job growth in the legal profession is happening
slowly.
B. “A New Normal”
“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas
anymore”
-Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz,
1939
Things we know:
• You’re all overachievers.
• You’re all smart
• Studying law, as you have discovered, is quite
different; not passive
• Thinking like a lawyer doesn’t happen overnight
• New blinders on as you go forward
“I am not going to sit on my ass as the events
that affect me unfold to determine the course of
my life. I’m going to take a stand. I’m going to
defend it. Right or wrong, I’m going to defend
it.”
 Ferris (Matthew Broderick) in Ferris Bueller’s Day
Off, 1986
C. A Real World Education
• This is active, very personal work … there’s
no hiding—
• It involves:
▫ You on paper – putting on one piece of paper
the capsules of your professional life and
flaunting what you know how to do.
▫ You in action -- as a way of life. You have to
put yourself out there – talking with people.
It’s not about the grade this time.
“My Mama always said you’ve got to put the past
behind you before you can move on.”
-Forrest (Tom Hanks) in Forrest Gump, 1994
II. Your Resume, Your Script
A. Encapsulating Who You Are and What You
Can Do
Sole goal of the resume =
getting an interview!
“You had me at hello.”
v Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger) in Jerry Maguire,
1996
B. What’s the Impression You Want to Make? How do you get me at “hello?”
First impressions:
▫ Getting your resume to its destination
▫ No pink paper; no perfume
▫ The feel of nice paper does send a subconscious message.
▫ Make it visually attractive:
 Balanced
 Sharp, readable font -- Make it easy to read, no cursive
 Arial, Century Gothic, Century, Tahoma, etc …
 Size 12 is great, 11 is okay 10 pt- try to avoid it
▫ Clean lines. Organized. Clear bullets.
▫ Action verbs: Past-tense and present- tense
“These Are A Few of My Favorite Things.”
-Maria (Julie Andrews) in The Sound of Music,
1965
III. Resume Soundtrack – What Stays
In the Script …
• What can you give?
• What can you do to help a potential employer
sleep better?
• Showcase yourself.
• Show your value and accomplishments.
• Can you meet the employer’s needs?
Start with an Inventory of Assets
Take a legal pad…
• Write down all your experiences -- scholastic,
extracurricular, employment, civic, scholarly,
social and military
• Make it broad; don’t cut
• Later, edit, condense, categorize. Others who
are more objective can help you cut, where
needed
Staying in the Script
•
•
•
•
•
•
1. Name, address, telephone, email address
2. Education (more on this later)
3. Employment (more on this later, too)
4. Licenses or certifications
5. Publications
6. Optional
(languages, publications, professional licensure, bar
association memberships, community service)
IV. Resume Soundtrack: Scenes
Better Left on the Cutting Room
Floor
Lawyers like seeing their “favorite things” in a
resume.
Lawyers don’t “give a damn” about
these things:
1. A personal section
2. A career objective –
Generally not needed. However, a Career Summary or a
Profile of Accomplishments may be okaydepending on your
experience and your specific goals with each application
3. References – a separate sheet
4. A photograph
5. Your computer skills—assumed
6. Self-puffery
7. Exaggerating your GPA
8. Observing trials or depositions while clerking for a
judge or working at a firm
9. Future events— In general, leave these off your
resume. Exceptions:
 When you expect to receive a degree, or license or
certification
 Accepted positions: This is okay: “Summer Intern, offer
accepted for Summer 2012”
 Once you have registered for an activity in the future, you
can say “ABC Moot Court, scheduled to participate
Spring, 2012.”
 Publication in the future: “XYZ, scheduled to be
published by ABC, Spring, 2012.”
10. Salary requirements
11. The reasons for leaving another employer
12. Personal pronouns, abbreviations or
acronyms
13. Nicknames
14. Exceeding one page
15. Legal-sized paper.
16. Sending your resume without a cover letter
17. Politics, if possible
18. Typoz (oops!)
SEPARATING YOURSELF FROM THE
CROWD...
• Going forward, think about these next things as
you start building your experiences in law
• What makes your resume different from others?
V. Soundtrack Mechanics Aside: Tell
Me About Your Character & Skills
Aside from what’s in, what’s out, think about
depth and value.
A. The truth
• Correct information -- accurate dates titles, and
descriptions
• Never estimate grades/class rank
• The Character and Fitness Committee
“Son, if you really want something in this life,
you have to work for it. Now quiet! They’re
about to announce the lottery numbers!”
-Homer Simpson, The Simpsons, timeless …
B. Add value
1. Adding Value Generally
• Cutting edge/quantify your achievements
• Showing your value shows how you can be a
resource instead of a person begging for a job –
what a difference!!!
Showing value on your resume:
“Researched coverage issues on behalf of firm client.”
• It’s got a past-tense action verb; I know you
researched coverage issues, but I don’t know:
-- specific issues you researched
-- if conflicts in the law between state circuit
courts or a split of authority between states
-- if your efforts were successful
• KEY: Did you add value to your client’s position?
• A Spider’s Web- worth unraveling to consider if
you made someone look good at your old firm…
The person sitting on the other side of the desk
will pick up on this immediately.
They’re thinking, “What can this candidate do
for me?”
2. Adding financial value
“Show me the money!”
• Concrete, in dollars and cents
• Quantifiable value
“Researched coverage issues on behalf of firm
client.” becomes:
“Prevailed on summary judgment motion on
behalf of widower client; researched Illinois law
and drafted motion and brief arguing that
insurer was liable for covering medical expenses
totaling over $500,000.”
Or, try something like this:
“Researched and drafted successful motions in
limine, striking 3 of 4 of plaintiff’s proposed jury
instructions in a construction litigation matter
worth nearly $4 million.”
GIVING INFO: Enough, but not too
much
• Leave ‘em begging!
• Guess what? You’ll probably get an interview!
3. Adding Value to Your Firm’s
Administration
_________________________________
• Did you add value to your former firm’s systems
or processes?
• Majored in computer science?
• Did you developed an IT system for calendaring
or inputting work product, taking a firm where
you clerked away from a paper-based system?
• Can you quantify how much money you saved a
former employer in this way?
• Many have found legal employment through this
side door
• You may think nothing of it, but someone
older values this know-how. Addressing
computer needs, as an example, especially in a
smaller firm, can win you an interview!
• HIRING YOU = SAVING $$$ = HIRING
ONE LESS PERSON
4. Adding Value by Simply Keeping
Clients Happy
and Coming Back
• See a need
• Provide exceptional customer service
5. The Value of Sales Experience
• Keep sales experience in a resume. Why?
• Close calls – you get the interview!
“That's it, baby, when you've got it, flaunt it,
flaunt it!”
-Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) in The Producers,
2005
C. Selling yourself: A starring role
This is where the hard work comes in: It’s like
untangling a spider’s web.
Articulating what you did in your resume:
• Did you win??? What did you win?
• Was it your research, your argument, your
writing that proved successful???
• Was your boss, your client happy?
Don’t undersell yourself!!! It’s so
common!
How to sell yourself in your resume:
•
•
•
•
•
Motions/briefs
Motions in limine
New system at a firm or other office saving $
Did you keep an existing client happy?
Describe your experiences to show that you can
hit the ground running.
• Distinguish yourself from the crowd.
• KEY: provide a decision-maker with the tools
she needs to go to bat for you in the hiring
meeting.
There’s A One-Page Requirement!
As you build on your legal successes, it will
be hard to make it all fit. (Depending on
facts and circumstances, two pages may be
appropriate …)
• If you need to cut, take out activities that won’t
get you a job in law: diving/frat activities
• Instead, explain how hiring you, with your skills,
will make your interviewer’s life better
D. Be clear, proof your resume
• Content
• Typos
-Read each line from right to left; it helps find errors!
-Make sure that your resume makes sense!
• Ask others to read your resume – friends, family, OCS counselor.
• Avoid confusion of different roles at the same firm/company.
See Cynthia Gordon’s resume, attached. You need to
show your promotions clearly with dates and the different
titles you’ve held. Show how you were well-thought of.
• With every item on your resume, ask: will this help get me invited
in?
• If you have to explain something, save it for your
interview!!!!
E. Stealing good resume ideas is
perfectly okay.
“I’ll have what she’s having…”
-Restaurant patron (Estelle Reiner, Rob Reiner’s
mother) in When Harry Met Sally … 1989
F. Resume gaps: What the critics will
be saying …
• Don’t explain work history gaps in your resume.
• There are great ways to respond to these
questions in an interview
• (I started a business, raised children,
volunteered, saved the planet …)
G. Your attitude – The MPAA Ratings
Stay positive …
If you can, try to enjoy parts of the process of
articulating your skills and experience
H. Your references – The supporting
cast
• List 3 people who know you in a professional
capacity; those you trust to discuss your skills
and accomplishments when asked.
• Ask your references permission prior to giving
out their names
• Keep your references in the loop
• Be equally concerned about them and their lives
“I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen.”
-Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) in Say Anything,
1989
I. Results: Sometimes you give it
your all, but the Oscars aren’t ready
for you…
• Lower your expectations
• You may have taken someone out to lunch, and
after this effort, your guest’s contact didn’t even
answer your emails or return your call!
Your job search, landing where you want to
be, may be frustrating at times. It’s not at
all impossible.
VI. Learning the Market; Knowing the
Genres
• Despite market contraction in many areas, there
are areas of law where demand is high.
• Do your homework and stay current. Read
Crain’s, American Lawyer, Chicago Lawyer,
CBA Record, ISBA Newsletters, Law Practice,
ABA Newsletters, etc. (All have free feeds
online; also available in the OCS)
What’s in demand in 2012?
• Technology, intellectual property, energy, financial
services, employee benefits, all kinds of compliance
and regulatory work, all kinds of corporate work,
labor and employment, healthcare, workouts, asset
management, banking (compliance with use of
TARP funds), class actions and white collar crime
• Bankruptcy law and mergers go up and down. The
federal government is a huge employer nowspending TARP funds. Temporary work: document
reviews.
Parting words:
• 1. Revise your resume to showcase your skills
• 2. Research areas of law that are recession-proof
▫ Read and stay current
▫ Set up some informational interviews with alumni
from your law school and your undergrad (Don’t
ask for a job)
• 3. Avoid sending your resume into cyber space
▫ Make connections and use them all the time
▫ It is a lot of work, but it’s also working smart –
with results.
Parting words (continued)
• 4. COVER LETTERS– make them a slam dunk
for every position
▫ Match up the required job functions for each
position you go after to your skills like two
puzzle pieces fitting together
• 5. Always send thank you notes
• 6. Create and practice your elevator speechwhy’d you go to law school?
• 7. Keep your references in the loop! They’re on
your team and want to see you succeed!
“If you've ever seen the look on somebody's face
the day they finally get a job, I've had some
experience with this, they look like they could
fly…You don't really know how much you can
do until you, stand up and decide to try.”
-Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) in Dave, 1993